Humor, whodunit skillfully concealed, wacky characters but real people...a denouement par excellence. Highly recommend you read this wonderful wacky book.
The White Magic Five and Dime: A Tarot Mystery
by Steve Hockensmith
When Alanis McLachlan learns that her mother's been murdered, she's completely unsurprised. Not that Alanis had been given a glimpse into the future. That would be crazy, right? It's just that her con-woman mom, Barbra, was bound to cross the wrong people sooner or later. It's why Alanis was lucky to get out of her childhood alive - and why she hadn't spoken to her mother in decades.
But there is a surprise in store for Alanis. Barbra left her something in her will: a New Age shop in the tiny tourist trap town of Berdache, Arizona. The White Magic Five & Dime.
After going to Berdache to claim her inheritance, Alanis is drawn into the mystery around her mother's death. Did one of Barbra's customers finally get wise to her con-artist ways and take revenge? Alanis thinks she knows how to find out: She'll make those customers her own until she can find the killer. Alanis McLachlan, cynic and unbeliever, is about to become a tarot card reader.
With a little help from her mother's teenage apprentice and a snarky tarot how-to book called Infinite Roads to Knowing, Alanis begins bluffing her way through phony readings. But the more she gets to know the cards, the more she sees real meaning in them...and the closer the murderer comes to making her the next victim.
"Hilarious." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A clever and compelling tale filled with colorful and engaging characters." -Foreword Reviews
"Hockensmith, author of the award-winning Big Red/Old Red series, and coauthor Falco deliver a charming comic mystery." -Booklist
"The story is fun and light, and the mystical background and details of tarot reading are treated with good-natured skepticism." -Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
Reviews
Steve does it again
Great read!!!
A really fun mystery, I really enjoyed the quick wit and snarky humor along with the unforseen twists and turns the story took. Great characters and a fast pace story.
Excellent
A well written mystery for lovers of the genre. No gore or sex, just a really good read for adults
Tarot reading intrigue
Very clever novella. Interesting mystery and weave of tarot cards and the interpretation of them. A con?? An opinion or a little of both
Great Two-for: Learn about Tarot and Con Artists
Steve Hockensmith’s an excellent writer. Plenty of wise-cracks, interesting characters, and plot twists in the mystery of who killed Alanis’s mother. Read it!
Average
Too many swear words for my taste.
Good character development.
Nice ending.
But not something I will want to remember, or re-read.
What a great read!
I read for entertainment and to escape from reality for a while. This book did it for me. I love Steve Hockensmith's sense of humor. The story was dark as some reviewers have said but the humor and dialog countered that perfectly.
I would recommend this book to all my friends.
Review from a real Tarot Reader
I am a Tarot reader and the book was recommended to me. I loved it. A mystery that was funny, the protagonist a real hoot and the way Tarot was woven in was right on the mark.
